josh bridging forward participant

“I have learned there are organizations who do care about people who have struggled.”

– Josh, Bridging Forward initiative participant

We are an innovative program designed to reduce poverty rather than manage it

A Transformative Model

The United States has built an elaborate S1.1 trillion poverty management system comprised of a collection of complex and disjointed investments that have consistently maintained a poverty rate above 11% for the past 55 years.

This system has invested heavily in crisis intervention and stabilization without investing in purposeful handoffs to long-term solutions that tie in workforce readiness, placement, and advancement – to an income that supports families, builds savings, and adds to community wealth.

The current system creates urgency and keeps many organizations busy managing poverty. However, with this system, there is no clear starting point, path or finish line. No organization is responsible for getting people over the finish line. There is even debate about what the finish line is! This system does not work and is a problem that ripples out to all sectors of society:

  • Businesses cannot find qualified workers
  • Human-services agencies cannot meet the demand for assistance
  • Public safety challenges continue to strain resources

Bridging Forward is an innovative program designed to reduce poverty rather than manage it.

With Bridging Forward there is a clear starting line, a clear pathway, and a clear finish. Agencies and programs work together and are paid to get people over this finish line. In Bridging Forward, participants work with a Prosperity Coach and prioritize the significant issues that must be addressed on their road to Prosperity.

Bridging Forward was created in response to the Community Impact Network and over 100+ community members identifying poverty as a significant issue for the community.

This was well-matched by United Way of South Central Nebraska’s interest in moving to a more transformative model of community impact. The partnership between the collaborative Community Impact Network and UWSCNE allows several layers of the community to engage together in reducing poverty by 30% by 2030.

chara participant in bridging forward

“Sometimes it just takes someone to believe in you.”

– Chara, Bridging Forward initiative participant

Connecting Resources

Maximizing Collaboration for the Benefit of All

The Community Impact Network – a collaborative of 40+ nonprofits, programs, agencies, and institutions – is the driving force behind Bridging Forward. It will take all of these entities working together to reach the goal of 30% poverty reduction by 2030.

View the social network map of these organizations. It is a visual representation of the variety of stakeholders as well as their roles, focus areas, and levels of participation.

The map will help us build collaboration, reduce duplication and increase efficiencies to help enhance the well-being of all in Adams, Clay, Nuckolls, and Webster counties.

For more information, contact coordinator@unitedwayscne.org.

Click the image below to view the full map.

To participate:

Call 402-461-8418 for more information and schedule a time to talk and complete an application.